Healing the Broken
by Rose.Petals.In.April
Summary: They say two broken halves can form a whole. The Dixons have been broken for a long time and they never imagined that the end of the world would be what fixes them. The real problem now is how long can they stay whole in this new world filled with death, violence, and misery.


**AN: I have rewritten this a couple of times. I haven't been too sure on how I wanted Tommy to be. I want both Parker and Tommy to be like their father and have a similar relationship as them, while also being a mixture of their uncles and their dads. Tommy will be the quiet one like his father, but I'm making him have a very bad temper problem, while Parker will be like his dad, loud and obnoxious, but deep down he'll be like Daryl in the sense that he's insecure and a bit afraid of being with someone. I am going to follow the show a bit, but I will be changing quite a lot. The reason behind it is that I love Merle and there's not enough of him and the other reason is that with my ocs, I believe events will change because of them.**

 **And I'm rambling. I'll let you get to the story, but tell me what you think and how I'm doing. I should have the next chapter up no later than next week. Depending on how my week goes.**

 **-Rose Petals**

* * *

It was a hot humid day. Sweat rain down Tommy as he swung the ax. His black hair stuck to his forehead and dripped down his face. He had dirt and grime covering his body from his trip into the woods. His arms screamed for a break, but he continued to swing his ax and chop the wood that he had collected. In camp, everyone did their part.

Tommy and his family have been with the group for two weeks now. Hunting for them, dressing and cleaning the kills for them, chopping woods for them. They did a lot for the group, but the group didn't see that. What they saw were a bunch of dangerous, rough, rednecks that will kill you in your sleep and rape the women.

Tommy swings the ax harder.

They judged the Dixons appearance without knowing their personalities. They looked down at the Dixons as if they're dirt. They think they are so good. So smart. So much better. But they are pathetic. Weak. Clueless. If it wasn't for the Dixons they would have died from starvation or gotten sick from drinking bad water because officer dick lips had little to no clue as to what he was doing. But no, the Dixons were trash.

Tommy grunts as he swings the ax down with as much force as he could muster.

Dixons have always been trash. Imbreded, trailer living, dropouts that were going nowhere but jail and hell. These people didn't know anything about Tommy or his family. They have no idea what he went through. What any of them went through.

Tommy throws the ax to the ground and runs a hand through his hair. "Feel better?" Tommy glances up to find his cousin leaning against a tree across from him. Parker just as sweaty, but he was dressed in only jeans and his boots. His brown long hair was dripping with sweat, but his eyes, his blue eyes were alive with amusement. Obviously from Tommy's anger. Parker was the type that loved fighting and stirring shit up. He'd be the first one to push you over the edge with your patience and anger.

"What do you want?" Tommy grabs the rag from his back pocket and wipes the sweat off his face. He was still dressed in his wife-beater and his jeans, but with no breeze coming through the trees he felt as if he was standing before the gates of hell in a winter coat.

"It's hot as fuck." Parker complains. "Thought I'd see if you want to head down to the pond with me."

"Pass." Tommy moves and takes a seat against the tree before grabbing his bag, which held water and food. He took the water bottle and took a long swig of it, grimacing at the warmth of it. That was what Tommy missed the most. Not money, people, or drugs. What he missed was cold beer and water, sweets, and ac. He missed what used to be normal. Tommy pulls his leg up against his chest and rested his chin on it. "When is Merle getting back?" Parker shrugs and takes a seat beside Tommy.

"Hell if I know. I don't even know why the fucker went."

"He seemed out of it when he left." Tommy watches Parker, seeing the anger in his eyes along with the disappointment. Merle wasn't a bad guy. He had a temper and was a bit racist and sexist, but he cared about his family. Family was everything to him. Parker was everything to him. "You okay?" Tommy asks, nudging Parker with his foot.

"Before he left…." Parker trails off, a look of guilt coming into his eyes. All Dixons were good at hiding behind a mask, but their eyes showed everything. They showed every emotion and every thought. "I thought I should pack some more water for him just in case."

"And?"

"He's using again." Tommy felt his breath leave him. Merle hadn't used since Parker was six. He had promised to stop. That shit messed with his head, made him crazy. If Merle was back on that shit then he wasn't going to be any good in Atlanta. He was going to be a mess and get his ass in trouble.

"I'm sure he'll be okay." Tommy lies. He lies because he has to. He lies because he can't tell Parker the truth. The truth would be devasting. Merle Dixon was fucked. Tommy remembers just briefly how much that stuff messed with Merle. It made him reckless, aggressive, mean. That stuff turned him into his father.

Parker closed his eyes and rubbed his arms. Tommy's eyes move to Parker's back. How could Merle use again after what he did last time? Tommy knew this new world was fucked, but could it really be that fucked. That fucked that he'd risk his life, his family's life? Parker clears his throat and looks at Tommy. "Want to go down to the pond with me?"

"Yeah." It's all Tommy can say as the thought of his uncle ran through his head. Merle left with a group to Atlanta early this morning and so far he still hasn't come back. It was already noon.

"What are the chances that they just found a good amount of shit and trying to gather it all?" Tommy looks back at his cousin, whose eyes are filled with a hope that crushes Tommy's heart.

"I'd say a great chance. No one else is scavenging in the city. There's so much for us to grab. I'm sure they'll be a while because of it."

"Come on, let's get cleaned up and cooled off. I'm burning my ass out here." Tommy forces a smile as he stands up with Parker. Parker had always been more of a brother to Tommy. All of Tommy's life Parker had been by his side, being the big brother and looking out for him. There are days when Tommy looks after Parker, today being one of them, but as they walk through camp Tommy can feel his mood souring again. Everyone was watching them as if waiting for them to go feral. It made Tommy tense and moody. He just wanted to grab his knife and stab each of them in the eyes, try and stare at him then.

"You never said what got you pissed." Dixons wasn't the type to talk about feeling or personal shit, but they did show concern at times.

"Nothing." The last thing Parker needed right now was to worry about Tommy. Tommy knew this. Parker acted a lot like his father, tough and cocky, but deep down Parker is very insecure and afraid. Parker's the biggest worrier that Tommy has ever met, but he hid it behind a false facade of anger, aggression, and cockiness. But there was nothing Parker could hide from Tommy. Tommy was the observant one. He noticed everything, you could never get passed Tommy. Tommy was like his father, quiet, closed off, distant, but he had an anger in him. An anger that burned hot and deadly. Parker always says he's quiet, which makes him very dangerous. Tommy could hide everything he was thinking and feeling. And in his mind, he was always thinking and thinking was dangerous at times.

"You know I can't read you, Tommy. You gotta tell me what you're thinking." Every Dixon are good at hiding their thoughts and feelings, but their eyes are a window to their soul and show everything, Tommy is the exception to that. His eyes show nothing, there is absolutely no way to know what Tommy is up to.

"Ain't thinking shit." Tommy's eyes scan the area around him, always watching what's going on around him.

"You're always thinking shit." Parker grins and nudges Tommy. "You're a Dixon." Tommy snorts as he sees Parker with that sly grin of his. The grin that promises that he is thinking about nothing but disgusting shit. "Mm." Parker's eyes follow as the two blonde sisters passed him. "Even when the world ends their's still fucken tits." Tommy rolls his eyes and starts down the hill. He was used to Parker's foul and dirty mouth, he took after his father with it. Tommy often just ignored it. It was better that way. Comment on it and it usually ends up getting worst. "When's the last time you fucked a pair of tits and not your own hand, Tommy?" Tommy ignores Parker and kicks off his boots. "Before or after the end of the world?" Tommy pulls his wife beater over his head, the fabric sticking to him like glue. "Because far as I know you never fucked before the world ended. At least not to my knowledge. You're not a pistol licker are ya?" Tommy throws a glare at Parker, which causes the boy to laugh. "You aren't yo-woah!" Tommy kicks Parker's feet out from under him, causing him to go falling back into the water. Parker sits up, spitting out water, his hair covering his eyes. "You fucken little bastard." Parker growls, pushing his hair out of his face. Tommy bursts into laughter as he looks at Parker. His hair was so long that it made him look like a dripping wet rat. "Oh, I'll show you what to laugh about." Parker jumps on Tommy, tackling him to the ground.

"Get the fuck off me." Tommy laughs, kneeing Parker in the stomach as Parker punches him right in the chest. Tommy coughs as Parker rolls off him. Tommy gets onto his knees just as Parker kicks him right in the stomach. Tommy grabs Parker's foot and pulls, causing the bigger of the two to fall back into the sandy dirt with an oof. Taking advantage of the moment Tommy punches Parker right in the face before. Parker grabs Tommy's arm and pulls him right towards him before kicking him into the water.

The sound of laughter has them both lifting their heads. The women were all watching from down from them a ways, in the middle of washing clothes. Tommy's face burns red, never been one for the attention of anyone, especially women. Parker spits out blood before wiping his cut lip with the back of his hand. "Fidgy fuck." Parker spits, looking at Tommy with a glare. Tommy pulls himself out of the water, his jeans soaked and clinging to him. They fell a bit lower than they would have, but they still hid the goods. Parker cocks his head to the side as he noticed the taco bender's daughter staring right at Tommy. A wolfish grin suddenly comes over Parker's face.

"What the fuck you smiling about?" Tommy snaps, looking at Parker and not liking Parker's grin at all.

"I think you need to cool off."

"I've done enough of that shit." Tommy says, going for his boots. With his back towards Parker, Parker makes his move. He grabs Tommy, causing them both to fall to the ground. "Not this shit again." Tommy groans as he kicks Parker off him and stumbles to his feet. "Fuck off." Tommy snarls. "I ain't in the mood for your shit." Tommy's jeans were barely holding on, one more pull and they'd fall.

"Somebody gotta get ya some pussy." Parker's voice was just loud enough for Tommy to hear. Tommy gives him a confused look just before Parker lunges again.

"Goddamn it, Park!" Tommy snaps, kicking and pushing Parker off of him. Parker takes a kick to the face, but it was worth it because now Tommy's jeans were down a good way, revealing that he was in fact not wearing boxers. Parker grins and looks at Tommy, who's has was practically hanging out and his groin was peeking out. Tommy lifts his head to see the same thing Parker saw, the girl looking right at him, more importantly, his groin that was showing a bit. Tommy's face turns bright red as he struggles to pull his wet jeans up. The jeans were sticking to him like glue and made it almost impossible to pull up, but they were easy enough to pull off. Parker took advantage of Tommy's distress to do just that. "You fucken asshole!" Tommy snaps as Parker rips Tommy's jeans right off him. Parker got a boot to his face as Tommy hurriedly pulls his pants up, which were now at his knees. He manages to get them up after a full minute of struggling, but the damage was already done. He knew the women just got a lucky look at his junk. Tommy throws his second boot at Parker before storming up the hill. He didn't want to go to the damn pond, to begin with.

"Oh come on, Tommy, don't be such a pussy." Tommy ignores Parker and keeps going. The sound of a loud ass car alarm echoed as Tommy got closer.

"What the fuck?" Parker manages to catch up to Tommy in time to see Glenn standing by the car. "Does that mean my dad's back?"

"Yes! Everybody's fine!" Glenn yells at Amy. "Except Merle."


End file.
